Earth-24/Superheroes
Superheroes There is often a sharp dichotomy between how the normal folks of Earth-24 and the various governments and corporations of the world react to superheroes. There is a long history of manipulation, abuse, and misuse of Super Powered Beings by various government agencies and corporations (particularly International Operations). However, most of this is still classified and unknown to normal people (though enough of IO's dirty laundry has been aired that that particular organization is but a shadow of its' former self). The various governmental powers are often deeply concerned about the rise of superpowered beings and often try to find ways to control or neutralize them. Yet they stop short of mounting public campaigns to turn opinion against the superheroes (with a few exceptions, like G. Gordon Godfrey). Mostly because they're not sure it would work.... The general public, however, tends to love their heroes. Some of the more adored heroes have extensive fan clubs, museums, and tons of merchandise inspired by them (most heroes make arrangements for sales of such merchandise to benefit various charities, though a few, like Booster Gold license themselves for their own profit). The Justice League, Stormwatch, and Titans are all considered heroes of the people and generally receive a great deal of cooperation from common folks and legal authorities alike (including a significant degree of government sanction). There are, however, certain groups that have a shadier and much more secretive reputation, most notably the WIldCATs, who have been known to employ lethal force against their enemies with frightening frequency. Even then, while the "rogue" team's actions are often condemned in the media, there is a significant cult following for the team, particularly among younger generations, who view them as "cooler" than the more openly "white hat" teams. The Outsiders and the various members of the Bat-Family also tend to fall into this category. Supervillains, at least those that are publicly known, tend to be reviled, and the public is generally astute enough to recognize the difference between heroes and villains without much difficulty, and place blame accordingly. Overall media coverage of superheroes tends to be favorable, though blatantly unheroic and/or seemingly out-of-character actions can cause scandals of varying degrees when revealed. Fortunately "A supervillain made me do it" coupled with a sincere apology is often all a well-regarded hero needs to wipe that particular slate clean. There are a few major media outlets that tend to be less favorable/forgiving of superhumans in general though, but theirs is very much the minority voice. Super Powered Being (SPB) Classifications The United States adopted a system of classification for superhumans in the 1940's. This system was adopted by NATO and later the United Nations to try (somewhat poorly) to classify the various costumed heroes and superpowered beingsinto rough power level categories. The term "Super Powered Being" (usually shortened to SPB) is usually used in military and governmental circles to describe anyone who operates as a "super hero" or villain: Vigilante Class - Though the name was taken from the World War II era cowboy-themed Superhero, the name has proven remarkably appropriate for this class of metahumans. These are individuals who have no superhuman powers, but operate as superheroes due to the use of extensive training, amazing natural talent, or just plain determination (Or all of the above). Vigilante-Class superheroes occasionally veer into "enhanced" physical abilities but generally are "normal" humans in the sense of having no metahuman abilities or non-human genetics. Governments could of course train people to Vigilante-Class levels of skill and competence, but finding those with the necessary drive and talent is difficult, and training is expensive, which usually means they don't bother save for a select few elite individuals...or try to hire folks that have already trained themselves to this level of competence. Examples: Batman, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Wildcat, Deathblow Soldier Class - Taken from no single superhero, try not to think too hard about the connotations of the government giving this class this particular name.... Soldier-Class superhumans possess actual superhuman abilities, but usually are limited to either a specific power or suite of closely related powers, and their overall power levels do not exceed a certain threshold. Technology-based superbeings usually fall into this class, as well. Soldier class is usually applied to a metahuman when the government believes that there's a reasonable chance conventional military forces could deal with the metahuman in question, even if it might mean throwing a fully armed and equipped army at them (of course their belief is not always correct). More or less, these are the "mid-range" super-beings and encompass a wide variety of powers and abilities. The United States, Japan, Russia, Gamorra, and China have the means to create Soldier-class SPBs relatively consistently and reliably, albeit at such great expense that such efforts are usually limited in scope (Hey suddenly the name of this class makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?) Hero Examples: Zealot, Backlash, Black Canary II, Grifter, Hawkman, Beast Boy, Warblade, Battalion, Most of Stormwatch's super-powered operatives Flash Class - Named for the original Flash, these metahumans have high levels of power, whether a multitude of abilities that combine to achieve a greater whole or a single ability or set of linked abilities at a very high level of power. At this level, governments no longer have faith that any sort of conventional solution would be able to stop the superhuman and thus must resort to alternative means of dealing with them if necessary. The United States has had some limited success creating Flash-class SPBs, but the expense of doing so is usually too great to maintain constant effort on. Gamorra can reliably create Flash-Class SPBs, and don't give a damn about how much it costs since others are usually paying them to do it. Examples: The Flash, Superboy, Green Lantern II, Cyborg, Midnighter, The Engineer, Jack Hawksmoor, Winter, Maul, Spartan, Jakita Wagner Fate Class - Simply put: Any Magic-based superhero, not including those empowered by magic but possessing more clearly defined abilities (such as Captain Marvel). Fate Class power levels can vary wildly, but basically if "Magic" is your superpower you fall under the Fate Class. Needless to say the government really has very little idea how to handle magic, much less how to create their own magic users. Especially since they have no idea that Homo Magi is even a thing. Examples: Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Jason Blood. Raven, John Constantine Majestic Class - Named for Mr. Majestic, these are the top of the heap in terms of power level. They are the super-powered being equivalent of a nuclear weapon. Majestic-Class superhumans possess the kind of power that makes governments wet themselves in fear at the idea of one of them going rogue. In fact, the rampage of Black Adam in 2005 gave the world a glimpse of the destruction such a being could inflict. Majestic-Class superhumans either possess a wide array of abilities at high levels, or a single ability or linked suite of abilities at near-godlike levels of power. While governments are constantly trying to devise contingencies to counter Majestic-Class threats, their success is extremely limited, and most recognize that the only thing that can realistically keep a Majestic-Class superbeing in check is another Majestic-Class superbeing (and preferably more than one). Needless to say, nearly every major world government has tried multiple experiments to create their own Majestic-Class SPBs, but with very limited success, and an unfortunate tendency for said government to lose control of the SPBs in question once they DO succeed in creating one. Examples: Majestic, Superman, Wonder Woman, Apollo, Captain Marvel, Aquaman (yes, seriously), Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Jenny Quarx Category:Theme Category:Earth-24